Should monks surf the Internet? Is spreading the
Dhamma electronically sacrilegious? Is a computer just a glorified typewriter
or tablet? It is not as if Buddhists are any more technophobic than
any other members of the religious community are, but there needs to
be an acceptance of computers and new technology as we enter the twenty-first
century, which isnt necessarily apparent at the moment.

What is happening now is that we have new tools and more sophisticated
ways to spread the Dhamma. So now monks, who have always had the role
of teachers and scholars, are becoming increasingly computer literate.
So it is the cyber monk, skilled in the new medium of the Internet,
that will take the Buddha-Dhamma into the twenty-first century and
beyond.

Monks and computers are still a novel combination.
For traditional lay Buddhists that can pose a dilemma, especially
if the monks lifestyle is perceived only as reclusive.
So when you put monks and technology together, some traditional Buddhists
have problems with it. There tends to an uncomfortable view of a monk
using a computer. I, as a "cyber-monk", have found
myself telling and sometimes reassuring people that I do not play
computer games! I often get a distinct feeling of disapproval, as
there seems to be the misconception that using a computer somehow
conflicts with or goes against the Vinaya. Well of course there were
no computers at the time of the Buddha, but is a computer any different
than more traditional forms of communication? Is there any difference
between typing a word document and writing with a quill on a parchment?
Surely its the content that is more important.

But only rarely have I experienced outright hostility:
Once a long-time supporter came to my office and watched me at work.
I could see that she was disturbed about something, in fact she seemed
to be very upset. Suddenly she said, "Your computer screen is
dirty!" And then as she stormed out, added " and so
are your glasses!"

If anybody can set up a Buddhist web site and
present what they believe to be the Buddhas Dhamma, is it the
true Dhamma? Where is the guarantee of authenticity, the orthodox
may ask? Well fortunately nobody can control the Internet so all sides
and opinions are expressed equally. It is this freedom that makes
the Internet flourish as a true global village without the dictation
of any one religion or politically motivated party (not even Bill
Gates!). Therefore, the Dhamma, as always, can only be recognised
through the genuine experience of individual practitioners and not
by any arbitrary authority.

The Internet, with its worldwide connectivity,
will eventually globalise the Dhamma and free it of all its cultural
accretions. Here then is an opening for Buddhism to re-express its
essence, freeing itself from the institutional grip and the irrelevancies
of non-Buddhist cultural practices. The new cyber temple
will become the meeting place for an online Buddhist community of
practitioners, as is already happening in the newsgroups and
chat channels worldwide. As the infrastructure improves on the net
the dataline to the virtual Buddhist community could bring about a
renaissance of Buddhism. The idea of Buddhism on the Internet does
not threaten or compete with the ancient understandings - it can only
make it more accessible and enhance the original teaching, providing
an international forum for discussion and education.

The content of the Internet already offers a limitless
ocean of information on the Buddha-Dhamma in the form of text based
web pages. But increasingly the Dhamma be will be experienced through
multimedia, most probably as Web/TV. This means that Buddhist material
will be presented in a multimedia context making it more accessible
and interesting to the average user and Buddhist student. Buddhism
on the Internet will become a powerful communication tool. It gives
us new ways of interacting with the world.

The inevitable globalisation of Buddhism, which
is happening in business and commerce, will be accelerated by the
new medium of the Internet. Why, therefore, are we not now putting
the resources into this new medium? How many more temples, stupas,
big Buddha statues, etc do we really need? Can we not now see the
merit in supporting Buddhist web sites / CD-ROMs for spreading the
Dhamma to the office and / or lounge room?

Who has the commitment to keep alive the Buddhas
teachings? In the past it has typically been the monks and scholars
with specialised training in the Dhamma. Traditionally they have preserved
and spread the Teachings. But 21st century Buddhism will
be left behind as a museum piece if we do not harness ourselves to
the new technologies and the Internet. Who will be the Buddhist web
masters - the teachers on the Internet? It will be the computer literate
monks and nuns, the Cyber Sangha who will provide the dataline to
Enlightenment.

I for example, as a Buddhist monk, who after some
years of intensive meditation practice and study in Thailand, Burma
and Sri Lanka returned home to Australia and established a meditation
centre in Sydney about six years ago, without the traditional support.

I started to use computers for word processing
and simple desktop publishing, then, acquiring a modem started the
first bulletin board service (BBS) ever run by a monk, called BuddhaNet.
Naturally as the technology developed I moved with it. I progressed
to the net three years ago, hand-cutting simple HTML code (web page
programming language) growing naturally with the new medium. I must
confess I was a beta-tester for Windows 95. BuddhaNet - the information
network - joined MSN (Microsoft Network) "On Australia"
later that year.

I am pleased to inform you that the BuddhaNet
web site now is a successful non-sectarian Buddhist information network,
which includes an online Buddhist magazine  BuddhaZine; and
a very popular on-line instructional meditation section: "Insight
Meditation Online" plus a section on Buddhist Studies. As a teaching
monk, I give regular meditation classes and talks during the week
 perhaps up to sixty people or more. But on BuddhaNets
web site, there are over 50,000 visitor per day, and a plethora of
e-mail inquires on Buddhism as well.

To tell you the truth, I think the Buddha would
have been quite at home using the new technology of the Internet to
propagate his teachings. There is a belief in some Buddhist traditions
of a future Buddha, called Maitreya - who it is said will come to
revitalise the Dhamma. Now, without being disrespectful to the romantic
associations of that belief, I can not honestly see how any future
Buddha, or future followers of the historical Buddha, would not naturally
use the available technology and be at quite at ease surfing the Internet.